While Most (72%) Canadians Give and Receive Gift Cards Each Year, Many Are Tossing Away Cash by Not Using Card's Full Value

Toronto, ON - With most Canadians both giving (72%) and receiving (72%) gift cards each year, a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of UGO Mobile Solutions L.P. (UGO) has revealed that many are essentially throwing cash out the window by not using the card's full value before ceasing its use.

Regrettably, one in ten (13%) Canadians say they typically lose or misplace gift cards each year, with Albertans (18%) and Canadians aged 18 to 34 (24%) being most likely to do so. Those who misplace their cards estimate they've lost $47 on average in lost cards each year. Moreover, three in ten (28%) say that they typically leave unspent money on their gift cards before they stop using the card, including 47% of young adults. Those that do are leaving an average of $5 left unspent on their gift cards.

Gift cards can be as good as cash - and Canadians believe they give out more gift cards than they receive. The average Canadian gives 4 gift cards a year and receives 3 gift cards. Those that give are giving an average of $166 in cards each year; those that receive cards receive approximately $134 in gift cards each year.

Thinking about the reasons why Canadians might not use a gift card to its fullest value, the culprits include forgetting how much money is left to spend if the total amount is not used all at once (23%), forgetting to bring the gift card when shopping (15%), misplacing them (8%), having too many cards in their wallet at one time (7%), the inconvenience of carrying gift cards in their wallet (7%) or some other reason (10%). Only a slim majority (54%) of Canadians insist that they always use their gift cards to their fullest value and none of these potential pitfalls affect them.

Thinking about what Canadians could do to help them avoid losing any value in their gift cards, a majority (54%) of Canadians say that they would be `likely' (29% very/25% somewhat) to use gift cards to their fullest value, and sooner than they do now, if they could store all of them on their smartphone and scan them at checkout. A minority (46%) says this would not make them likely (33% not at all/13% somewhat) to use their gift cards sooner and for the full amount. Most likely to think this could help them include Albertans (63%), Atlantic Canadians (58%) and - especially - those aged 18 to 34 (79%).

One in ten (10%) Canadians actually use gift cards as a budgeting tool, including 16% of young adults. Another 37% say that while they don't do it now, it's something that they're interested in trying out, with women (41%) being more likely than men (33%) to have this interest. A slim majority (53%) of Canadians, however, are not interested in this tactic.

Taking it one step further, four in ten (37%) Canadians would be `likely' (15% very/21% somewhat) to use gift cards as a budgeting tool if they were stored in an app on their smartphone - with 66% of adults under 35 saying they'd be likely to use this tool to help them stay on budget.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between July 9 and 14, 2015 on behalf of UGO. For this survey, a sample of 2,024 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos in Canada

Ipsos is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos' marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,669.5 ($2,218.4 million) in 2014.

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.